The Terror Beneath, our investigative RPG of Weird Folk Horror, is out now in the UK! In our last behind-the-scenes blog author Scott Malthouse guides you through the game's two main settings, the London Metropolis & Welsh Wilderness...

Last time we looked at an overview of what The Terror Beneath is and introduced the works of Arthur Machen, the game’s key inspiration. In this post we’re going to look at the time period and delve further into the two settings: the Welsh Wilderness and the London Metropolis.

The Terror Beneath is set in the waning fires of the Great War, which drenched Europe in the blood of millions. Families were torn apart and those soldiers who returned were physically and emotionally decimated. Despite the war formally ending in 1918, its repercussions would ring out across the next decade and beyond. The rapid need for innovation to fight in the trenches in the hope of toppling the enemy meant scientists and engineers had access to technology they could only dream of at the turn of the century. In the shadowy halls of government new research was underway to prevent another catastrophic war. Researchers blended new science and occult rituals to tap into the Veil, attempting to understand how to harness the dreaded Otherworld to their advantage. Naturally, this rarely went to plan. Even the most intelligent people, it seems, couldn’t tether the power of ancient gods.

The London Metropolis

The book details occult locations and secret societies within London, offering a host of inspiration for GMs creating mysteries in this setting. Scenarios set in the metropolis usually deal in weird occult machinations where science and the dark arts are brought together in the pursuit of power. London is steeped in deep history and folklore – its streets awash with lingering magic that dates back to the Roman occupation of these isles. As such, magical scholars and sorcerers make London their homes, from John Dee to Aleister Crowley.

When I was designing the London setting it was important to me that I blend both fiction and reality – to find the horror behind real landmarks that players could go and physically visit if they wanted. The Limehouse Pyramid, for instance, located in the grounds of St Anne’s Church is an enigmatic structure whose face is inscribed with ‘The Wisdom of Solomon’ in both Hebrew and English. Nobody really understands why this nine-foot-tall pyramid stands in the churchyard, but clearly there’s some occult undertones in its foundation. In The Terror Beneath this is an absolute fountain of energy from the Otherworld and therefore a great attraction to the sorcerers of London.

Other locations are specifically found in the pages of Machen. The Lost Club in Fitzrovia, for instance, whose doors seem to open to places other than the British capital. A secret society of aristocrats are said to haunt its rooms – to what end is anyone’s guess. Other organisations the investigators may come across include Alpha Et Omega, the offshoot of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (of which Machen himself was a member), and the Wormwood Club, whose patrons sip a special absinthe designed to offer a glimpse into the Otherworld. This ingredient happens to be a sap that comes from a certain tree that grows in Wales.

The Welsh Wilderness

Far away from the cacophony of the London streets is the eerie majesty of rural Wales. Decaying pit villages and rotting aristocratic homes dot the landscape – a land fragmented by overseas war. Here the pull of the Otherworld is at its most potent. Creatures lost to folklore still stalk the forests, bogs, and mountains. They slither in the cairns and haunt crumbling Roman forts. People who live away from larger cities and towns are all too aware of the things that crawl in the darkness. City folk call them superstitious, even blasphemous, but, out there in the wilds, knowledge is survival.

An investigation in the wilderness should feel markedly different from one taking place in the beating heart of England’s capital so the kinds of creatures and organisations out here are much more primal. Rather than secret societies, the Welsh Wilderness harbours sinister cults. The Children of Pan are dedicated to the titular Lord of the Wilds – the goat god whose image haunts various mountain grottoes and whose spawn demand human sacrifice. This cult was heavily inspired by Helen Vaughan, the antagonist in The Great God Pan whose birth was the result of a union between mortal and god. Machen also alluded multiple times in his writings to witch cults, brought to life in The Terror Beneath as The Mandrake whose members secretly induct young people into the world of witchcraft. Other cults flourished as a result of the Great War’s impact on rural Wales. The Cult of the Hollow Ones came about after the desolation of mining towns, where small troglodytic monsters are offered sacrifices by way of a blasphemous lottery, while the People of the Lake grew from the ruin of landowner estates as the aristocracy turned to the worship of Nodens in a desperate attempt to cling onto their status. 

Like the London Metropolis, locations in Wales are detailed in the book, giving GMs plenty of inspiration for their own mysteries. For instance, a mystery set in Tinkinswood may see the players investigating an ancient dolmen that seems to send people mad. Or perhaps they will venture to Bryn Celli Ddu on the Isle of Anglesey to explore the Mound of the Dark Grove where strange offerings of bone, feather, and coin are left… but for what reason?

The Terror Beneath’s two settings offer an exciting range of opportunities for frightful investigations, whether occult science fiction or a more straightforward folk horror vibe. Just don’t venture into the darkness alone.

The Terror Beneath is out now in the UK and will be out 12th November in the US.

Pre-order now.

• Roleplaying